Phoebe Dynevor Opens Up About Regé-Jean Page’s Bridgerton Exit

The Duchess of Hastings will be going it alone in Bridgerton season two.

As we previously reported, Bridgerton heartthrob Regé-Jean Page announced his departure from the breakout Netflix series after the highly successful first season. Fans of the sexy, smoldering Simon Basset were obviously disappointed (especially Kim Kardashian). But how did his onscreen wife feel about the exit?

Speaking with Variety’s podcast Awards Circuit, Phoebe Dynevor (aka Daphne Bridgerton) shared:

“I had a bit of a heads up so I knew, but yeah, I guess it is a spanner. But again, the show centers around the Bridgertons and there are eight books. I think maybe the fans of the books were more aware of that happening than the fans of the show. I think fans of the books know that every episode is about a different sibling. And we’re very much passing the baton to the lovely Johnny [Bailey], who plays Anthony. Obviously it’s sad to to see [Page] go but I’m looking forward to being reunited with my with my family.”

No hard feelings, then! Instead, Pete Davidson’s girlfriend looked back fondly on her memories with her former scene partner. She shared:

“I remember shooting the last scene in episode one where Regé and I have, like, our first dance together. And I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this feels kind of special.’ There were, like, fireworks going off behind us and it was, like, really romantic music. It felt like a really special moment, but you never know if it’s going to come out on camera and the audience is going to feel that buzz, too. It’s hard to tell.”

The 26-year-old may not miss the amount of sex scenes she had to film in season one, but she’s still proud of how the series portrayed Daphne’s sexual awakening. She explained:

“I remember talking a lot to Regé and our intimacy coordinator, and our showrunner and [director particularly the first intimate scene, about how it has to look very consensual. Even though Daphne has no idea what she’s doing, she still has to be in control in a certain way. So it was finding that balance and how we were going to portray that on screen in an authentic way.”

Even though she sensed they were creating something special, the overwhelming success of the show still came as a surprise, she admitted:

“I had no idea what we were filming and I just worked my butt off and hoped for the best. I remember, Johnny Bailey and I having conversations where we were like, what is this? Are people gonna get what we’re trying to do? Because it just feels so strange. And luckily, they did.”

If season two is as juicy as season one, we have no doubt Bridgerton will continue to be a success — though we’re still going to miss Regé-Jean!

[Image via WENN/Avalon & Netflix/YouTube]